LONDON, March 6, 2024: While shipment growth for touch displays used in automotive central stack displays (CSD) has slowed down in recent years, new Omdia research reveals that in-cell touch TFT LCD display shipments are still on the rise, reaching a notable 26.2 million in 2023. Accounting for a 35.1% shipment share in 2023, Omdia estimates this figure will soon exceed 50% in 2025.

Due to its technical advantages, simplicity for integration, and increasing display ASPs, panel makers are aggressively promoting in-cell touch TFT LCD displays to customers. In-cell touch TFT LCD displays, which combine embedded touch sensors and the display itself, are quite popular as evidenced by the shipment share in smartphone applications that reached 55.2% in 2023, and 45.1% in tablet PC applications. Touch display shipments in automotive applications (mostly used for CSDs) have been rising, with shipment shares increasing from 11.7% in 2021 to 25% in 2022 and further to 35.1% in 2023. 

This growth trend is also threatening the survival of projected capacitive touch makers. Projected capacitive touch displays, which have separate touch sensors and display designs, accounted for 86% shipment share in 2021. Although projected capacitive touch still meets automotive requirements, the competition is eventually advantageous to panel makers and their in-cell touch TFT LCD displays. The growth is benefiting from sufficient display sources, simplifying supply chain, panel makers’ capital or business scale, and the emerging smart cabin trend in automotive applications. 

The smart cabin trend also drives the need for larger automotive central stack displays, leading to an increase in in-cell touch TFT LCD display shipments. Display sizes larger than 10-inches (included) accounted for 37% of all touch display shipments in 2021, which grew to 58.5% in 2023. Most in-cell touch TFT LCD displays were larger than 10-inches, with shipments larger than 10-inches (included) accounting for 95.7% share of all in-cell touch TFT LCD display shipments in 2023.

“Due to growth stagnation in smartphone and tablet PC applications, panel makers are targeting automotive applications as the next growth dynamic. This shift is evident in the overall touch display shipments for automotive applications, which reached 74.6 million in 2023,” says Calvin Hsieh, Omdia Senior Research Manager for Displays. “Despite the slower than expected growth in 2024, in-cell TFT LCD display shipments will continue to grow, accounting for more than 50% shipment share in 2025,” concludes Hsieh. 

Senior professionals from the display, consumer electronics and semiconductor industries are set to converge at the highly anticipated Taiwan Technology Conference from April 17-18, 2024, in Taipei, Taiwan where Calvin will present Omdia’s latest displays research. Register here for your place.